It was quite obvious that after last week’s final frame, the Arrow universe will feel a blowback from Sara’s death. And from the opening scene, with the gang walking into Arrow’s hideout to find Sara’s lifeless body, it is made quite evident that this will be a heavy episode. But will the show falter under the weight of the melodrama or will it give the proper eulogy to a polarizing Black Canary character? Well, after my so-so reaction from the season premiere, I did not know what to expect from ‘Sara.’ But besides the episode’s plot being predictable, I found the group’s grieving process to be extremely interesting and effective.
This long eulogy-like episode shows how a death in the group affects each individual. Yes, there have been plenty of deaths on Arrow—Tommy, Moira Queen—but none hurt the group like Sara’s death because she, for a short period of time, was a part of this inner team: a team that suffered a few injuries, yet remained somewhat intact throughout the seasons. And certainly, a death will cause each character to react differently, with each person getting enough screen time to properly vent.
Most importantly, Stephen Amell does a wonderful job as Oliver this week: his stoic reaction to Sara’s demise is chilling—something Diggle and Felicity quesiton him about. Right away, like a superhero would, he jumps past the stage of grief and immediately begins the search to find the individual responsible. But as the episode moves on, it becomes quite obvious that he may not catch the killer yet—thus making him sit back and actually take in the situation. And his emotional response is actually quite moving: his line to Diggle, “I don’t want to die down here,” reveals a new hesitation for Oliver Queen—as if he is attempting to regain his humanity after years of violence.
And last week I talked about the melodrama and Arrow’s soap opera-like tendencies, which at times feel forced upon the viewer. Here, they are perfectly placed and paced throughout the episode, giving the audience enough time to grieve for Sara. Felicity, who always looked up to her, is affected the hardest: the technician has been brushed by death in the past, but this may be the first time she truly cared for the individual.
Felicity’s previously mentioned scene with Oliver about his sociopathic reaction to death perfectly pushes the two characters farther apart—making for some great television and perhaps putting the final nail in their proverbial relationship coffin. And for once, the love triangle seems to work: as Felicity, in this situation, would go towards the kind warmly Ray Palmer. Now, I am still on the fence about Brandon Routh, but his scenes with Emily Bett Rickards seems genuine, with the two sharing good on-screen chemistry.
Finally, Laurel’s grief pushes the character directly towards the action, placing her life in danger. Laurel, who has certainly been the most vocal member of the show, reacts exactly as one would expect, which at times could be a bit overbearing—yet understandable in this context. Her speech at the graveyard is heartbreaking and for once you truly feel for a character that has had countless ups and downs—thankfully they avoided her drinking problem, the worst storyline of the show, and prevented her from being the episode’s damsel in distress. In fact, some would say they actually did the role justice: the only thing I would have changed is telling Quentin—a storyline they are probably going to string out for as long as possible.
As for the rest, Simon Lacroix aka Komodo made a nice cameo appearance, but everyone knew he was not going to be Sara’s killer. This is too big of a plot point, for it to be resolved so quickly. However, it seems that the writers still wanted to write some action into the episode, so the Komodo makes a quick appearance—helping Oliver to at least put his aggression towards something. And while he can, at times, be a pointless villain, Komodo did give the audience some entertaining action sequences. Yes, the motorcycle fight is a bit hokey in retrospect, yet the way Arrow dispatches the villain is quick and undeniably cool: and I am glad they got rid of the ridiculous acrobatic choreography that distractingly filled last week’s show.
And the Hong Kong flashback scenes, which I neglected to mention in last week’s review, reappear to provide an interesting storyline that does not really pan out. After, Oliver signed on to his email, Tommy comes to Hong Kong to find him: resulting in Waller ordering Oliver to kill his best friend. It does provide for an interesting twist, keeping the audience guessing about our protagonist’s past: but besides being fun to see the dearly departed Tommy again, this plot line ultimately results in nothing.
Now this leaves the final reveal, Thea is a complete and utter badass: after months of training with Malcolm Merlyn, it appears that Ms. Queen has picked up a skill or two. And Oliver, who is desperate to find his sister after Sara’s death, is going to be shocked by this discovery. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of this episode, Thea’s newfound skills will add an interesting dynamic to the season: possibly resulting in her taking up the Speedy mantle—something the first season promised long ago.